Welcome to Mad About Art!
Mad About Art! is an enthusiastic group of art lovers run by a volunteer board. MAA! offers monthly programming featuring unique art activities in the Denver metro area. Programs include artist studio visits, private collection tours, corporate art tours, and public art tours. There are also book salons and lectures. Social activities include member parties for holidays and special events. In addition, the MAA! Travel program provides small group excursions to national and international locations several times a year. Membership dues are $75.00 per person, $25 for an additional person in your household.
If you haven’t already, it is time to renew your Mad About Art! 2026 membership. Programming is well underway for 2026, with events you won’t want to miss. Click the link below to complete your membership renewal, then view your cart and pay. Membership dues are $75.00 per person, $25 for an additional person in your household for 2026. You cannot sign up for events until you renew your membership. So sign up NOW!
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to Join or Renew Your Membership
(Don’t forget to view your cart and pay after you have registered.)
Looking forward to another year of exciting art adventures.
Don’t delay, renew your membership today!
ANNOUNCEMENT
Mad About Art! is pleased to provide monthly programs for our membership. We endeavor to have space available for everyone interested in a particular program. However, we have noticed a trend of members signing up for events and not showing or canceling at the last minute. Because some of the programs are at artists studios, space is often limited. Please do not sign up for a program until you are certain of your schedule and if you need to cancel please do so at least a week prior to the event date. Registering for a program the moment the newsletter arrives and then cancelling a day or two before prevents other members from attending. We look forward to seeing you at future programs!
We are seeking nominations for the MAA! board to serve in 2027.
Love MAA! and its role in enhancing our art community? Consider serving on the 2027 MAA! board of directors. Open positions starting in January are president, membership, and treasurer.
Please contact the nominations chair, Penny Eucker at pjeucker@gmail.com or call her at 303-908-9090 to nominate yourself or another member to help guide MAA! in 2027.
HAPPENING IN OCTOBER 2026
Denver Theatre District Tour
Friday, October 9, 2026
10:00am
RSVP by October 5
The Denver Theatre District (DTD) is a nonprofit organization that supports artists and brings free, accessible arts experiences to downtown Denver. Through exhibitions, public art, digital installations, performances, artist grants, and creative partnerships, DTD provides paid opportunities for artists while making art part of the city’s everyday environment.
DTD’s programs include:
Understudy – A non-commercial, experimental art space located inside the Colorado Convention Center. Understudy provides artists with a stipend and the resources to produce a five-week exhibition, installation, performance, or other creative project. The gallery presents a wide variety of artistic mediums and primarily supports work by local emerging artists. Understudy is free and open to the public Thursday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., and participating artists retain 100 percent of their artwork sales.
Night Lights Denver – A permanent projection-mapping program that transforms the Daniels & Fisher Tower into a large-scale canvas through nightly animations and rotating artist commissions.
del – A large outdoor digital screen in Skyline Park featuring artist commissions, cultural programming, music, games, and live experiences. The program’s namesake and guide is del, a curious pine marten who invites visitors to explore downtown.
Art Billboards – Rotating artworks displayed on digital billboards throughout the Theatre District, giving local artists access to highly visible public platforms.
Understudy is located at the Colorado Convention Center, next to the 14th and Stout light rail stop. The gallery has its own street-level entrance, marked by a bright neon-pink sign. Guests should enter directly through the gallery entrance rather than through the Convention Center.
After visiting Understudy, we will be taking a short walk to the Jann Haworth mural and possibly the outdoor LED art screen in Skyline Park. Wear comfortable shoes.
Location: 890 C 14th Street, Denver, CO 80202
Event Times: 10:00am
Program limited to 30 members
RSVP by October 5
Cost to Attend: No Cost
Parking Suggestion: Metered street parking is available near the gallery, and additional parking is available in the Denver Performing Arts Complex garage.
Jill Soukup Studio Visit
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
11:00am & 1:00pm tours
RSVP by October 15
Jill Soukup won Best in Show at this year’s National Western Coors Art Auction. A Colorado native, she graduated from Colorado State University in 1991 with a Bachelors of Fine Art. She initially pursued a career in graphic design In 2002 she made the switch to painting full time. Since then, her work continues to gain recognition as she receives awards, appears in national publications, and shows in important juried and one-woman exhibitions.
Location: 16581 Red Cliff Circle, Morrison, Colorado 80465
Two tours times offered, each limited to 12 members
No cost to attend
RSVP by October 15
Directions & Parking: From CO 470 and Highway 285, go West on 285 to CO 8 East (the exit toward Morrison from US 285). Take the first right (just before the Fort Restaurant) onto Willow Springs Road. After a mile, turn left onto Red Cliff Circle.
Colorado Currents
Friday, October 30, 2026, 2pm
RSVP by October 23
Colorado Currents brings together recent artworks by twenty-eight artists with ties to Colorado, in the spirit of exploring how Colorado is experienced today. This multigenerational group of artists draws from their personal experiences, research, concerns, and hopes for their hometowns, current homes, or homelands. Their work considers how historical legacies shape the present while imagining ideas that may influence Colorado’s future.
Their artworks address a wide range of topics including Colorado’s indigenous communities; histories of mining, labor, cowboys, and violence; the state’s mountain, desert, and prairie landscapes; close investigations of local flora and fauna; coping with drought and wildfires; pop culture references; shifting cities and neighborhoods; stories of inclusion, exclusion, and protest; and responses to recent events. While not comprehensive, together these perspectives offer a kaleidoscopic view of how we understand Colorado during its 150th anniversary of statehood.
Location: MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany Street, Denver, CO 80202
Event Times: 2pm
Program limited to 20 members
RSVP by October 23
Cost to Attend: $16.00
Studio Visit with Denver Artist Michael Dowling
Thursday, November 5, 2026, 10:30am
RSVP by October 29
Michael Dowling is a Denver based contemporary realist working primarily in oil and charcoal. His practice is grounded in traditional drawing and painting techniques, informed by studies in Italy and years of working across painting, drawing, and sculpture. Dowling has exhibited nationally and internationally and continues to teach and participate in the Colorado arts community.
“I’m curious about art history, mythology, religion, and recurring stories and symbols that keep bubbling up in so many cultures. I often combine traditional realism with elements of surrealism, using familiar figures, animals, and symbols in undefined settings to explore repetition, my place in this world, memory, and our notions of heroes.”
Michael was part of the Art Basel 2025 Satellite Art Show.
Location: 5785 East Mexico Avenue, Denver, CO 80224; Enter by front door. Studio is in his lower level.
Event Times: 10:30am for discussion and demonstration by Michael
Program limited to 30 members
RSVP by October 29
Cost to Attend: No cost
Join Sculptor Ed Dwight for a Discussion of His Current Exhibit “Ed Dwight: Casting a Legacy”
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 2pm
RSVP by November 9
Introducing Mad About Art! Meet Ups, late afternoon programs that will feature a special presentation followed by a social hour with refreshments and conversation about the program.
The first Mad About Art! Meet Up will be held at the beautiful History Colorado Center and will feature a discussion of the current exhibit Ed Dwight: Casting a Legacy. Ed Dwight will join Acoma Gaither, Associate Curator of Black History for a discussion about the exhibit.
Ed Dwight is a living legend whose artwork makes history come alive. Working from his Denver studio since 1977, Dwight has dedicated his artistic career to sharing African American history – while he himself continues to shape history as a trailblazer with astronomical accomplishments.
Dwight’s renowned sculptures preserve the stories of Black cowboys and homesteaders, jazz greats, and civil rights leaders. Through these cast creations, Dwight combines historical research, technical innovation, and imagination. More than a dozen of his artworks shine in this exhibition exploring his life and contributions as a renowned sculptor and innovator.
Dwight’s striking and poignant work is a testament to his accomplishments as a pilot, engineer, and the first Black astronaut candidate in the United States. Dwight has broken down barriers throughout his life, from integrating his Catholic school to an outstanding career in the US Air Force, from his entrepreneurship in the greater Denver community to his groundbreaking work as a bronze artist. At 92 years young, Dwight achieved his dream of being an astronaut in 2024, becoming the oldest person to go to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
Dr. Lockman, exhibit curator, says: “Ed Dwight is the ultimate history maker. Time and again he has been the first to accomplish what he’s done, and he has dedicated his work as an artist to sharing with audiences everywhere. It’s all there in his bronzes: his background as an engineer, his creativity, his awareness of history and his legacy.”
Location: History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway Denver CO 80202
Event Time: 2-4pm; 2pm presentation followed by a social hour and tour of Ed Dwight: Casting a Legacy exhibit. You will also have access to other exhibits until 5 pm
Program limited to 120 members
RSVP by November 9
Cost to Attend: $35.00, includes museum admission
Parking Suggestion: Cultural Complex Garage, 65 West 12th Avenue, Denver, CO 80204
UPCOMING EVENTS
The MAA! program committee is hard at work planning additional tours and meet ups for the remainder of this year. Events for which we have firm dates appear below. Watch for more information on these and on additional events in upcoming newsletters and invitations.
December 6: MAA! Holiday Program at Lakewood Country Club
Save the Date: April 6 -11, 2027: MAA! will travel with LT Associates and Dr. Timothy Standring to the recently enlarged Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR and then on to Tulsa, Ok.
JOIN OR RENEW MEMBERSHIP
If you haven’t already, it is time to renew your Mad About Art! 2026 membership. Programming is well underway for 2026, with events you won’t want to miss. Click the link below to complete your membership renewal, then view your cart and pay. Membership dues are $75.00 per person, $25 for an additional person in your household for 2026. You cannot sign up for events until you renew your membership. So sign up NOW!
President: Chad Skrbina
Past President: Hanne Lichtenfels
Treasurer: Stacey Wilson
Secretary: Meg Freedman
Communications: Betsy Rumely
Nominations: Penny Eucker
Programs: Kate McDaniel
Membership: Patty Horsch
Check Out Our Video and Previous Programs Page
Here you will find videos from our recent and past events – just click the red video icon.
